Contact centers traditionally use agents to handle all their remote customer interactions, i.e., via voice calls. Self-service applications, such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, were instituted to handle these interactions without human intervention or with reduced human intervention. By handling some of the routine data gathering activities prior to involvement by a contact center agent, an IVR system can offload contact center agents. Employing the self-service applications is not only a cost savings addition to a contact center, but also can be an efficient way for the caller to obtain routine information, such as a bank balance.
When companies install a self-service application, the goal is to contain as many of the interactions within the self-service application as possible. However, sometimes customers are unsuccessful in dealing with the self-service application. For example, if a customer cannot understand an IVR menu or does not find an IVR menu that meets the customer's needs, the customer may become frustrated. This may cause the customer to abandon a communication session. Alternatively, the customer may opt out of the self-service application to talk to an agent when the customer could have remained within the self-service application to accomplish his or her task.
Similar goals exist for the alternate channels, such as email, chat, or Short Message Service (SMS). It is in the best interest of a company to have the customer be successful within the alternate channel, or at a minimum, accomplish as much as possible within the alternate channel before transferring the interaction to a contact center agent. If the customer becomes frustrated during the interaction on the alternate channel, the customer may opt out of the alternate channel to talk directly to an agent or may abandon the interaction altogether. What is needed is a solution that overcomes these problems.